Butterflies & Moths 2020

I can't get near the Orange Tips at the moment ... they are dancing in the meadow, which is guarded by the most evil nettles and I'm not tackling them.

In the garden today I caught up with these two while I was doing a plant check 

Comma

And the smallest Holly Blue I have seen.  

CinJ

Well done Germain, this is turning out to be a pretty good year for the Butterflies. Haven't seen a Comma yet, but the Peacock seem to be showing well.

Thanks Hazel :o)

Still tons of Orange Tip butterflies around including this female which I saw on yesterdays walk

she wouldn't open her wings fully for the camera 

and what I think is a green-veined white

Great shots Hazy & love the flowers too!

Wow, pin sharp Nige and hilarious comment!

Hazel (Noisette),

How frequently do you trap? I'm hoping to build up a picture of what I have in the garden and thinking, weather permitting, to do 1 or 2 nights a week but I don't want to be too disruptive.

CinJ

Hi Caroline, I usually do every 2 or 3 nights, so they always have at least a night off to feed & go elsewhere. This time of year I'm getting about 10 different to what I've already had per trap. Lots of species only come once. This year is my 6th in this garden & I've had 4 new species for the garden already. Once confinement is finished I'll be out & about, so then I only do 1 or 2 traps a week in the garden. If rain is possible I trap under a garden table & yet it still works really well. I'm tossing up tonight, heavy showers coming & it may not be worth it. Go for it, if the weathers fine.

Thanks that makes me feel a bit more comfortable about it.  I have discovered that the area by my back door is perfect for when the weather is a little iffy.  Had a good session last night but still need to process photos and work out some ids..micros are really tricky . Do you find moon phases have any affect?

CinJ 

Oh yes, the full moon in the sky definately reduces the numbers. If it's cloudy it's better. For micros I use the book by Sterling & Parsons, the key is very good. I then check it out on-line, I use various sites. It also helps, after a while, to learn that you need lots of photos, with a good one of the palpes, side view, top view. I also soon found that I needed to relearn photography & do all my photos on f 20+ to get a good depth of field. It means using a flash so again you have to take more photos from different directions to counteract the reflections from the scales, so you can see all the markings. The first few months are a steep learning curve. For macro moths you need to handle some to show the hind wing & holding it in my left hand & camera in right is just possible. You often don't know what you need until you try to identify it, but if it's still in the trap you have a chance, otherwise you need to wait until next time it comes.......All good fun. I did a trap last night & it was good, quite balmy weather.